LOT No. 3 is the most ambitious cocktail den to hit Bellevue since Naga Cocktail Lounge debuted last year. It’s a whiskey-and-beer kinda place. It’s swanky, not grungy or dive-y. It’s also risky. LOT No. 3 doesn’t focus on the sweet and fruity drinks that make up the bulk of the cocktail sales at most bars. No Cosmos, Lemon Drops or candy cocktails listed. You get a lot of dry and bitter drinks to choose from, though.

It’s masculine to the core. Two levels, with metal coffee tables and leather ottomans. Music is bluesy and eclectic. And loud.

When the bartender made me a Jack Rose, he let it be known he tweaked the brandy cocktail to make it less sweet. It went down nicely with a candied strip of bacon, smokey and tasting of brown sugar. The drink also married nicely with a strip done extra-crispy, with plenty of porky saltiness.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @tanvinhseattle. Tan Vinh is a features writer for the Seattle Times. He hikes and drinks for a living, though he never does both at the same time. At least not while on the clock.